A complete house in Lahore costs about PKR 7,500 per square foot of covered area at Standard specification, as of September 2026: PKR 3,300 for the grey structure and PKR 4,200 for finishing, with materials and site labour included. A 1 Kanal house of 5,500 to 6,300 sq ft therefore plans at PKR 4.13 to 4.73 crore and takes 11 to 12 months from site start to handover. In DHA Lahore every rate is 6 percent higher.
PKR per sq ft of covered area, Lahore outside DHA, Standard specification, September 2026. In DHA Lahore the same sum is 3,500 + 4,450 = 7,950. Every figure in this guide comes from the calculator behind Avenir’s house construction cost guide, so the two never disagree.
What each plot size costs to build in Lahore
Price a house on its covered area, the floor area built across every storey, never on the plot. A 5 Marla plot is 1,125 sq ft; the house on it is typically 1,800 to 2,100 sq ft.
| Plot | Covered area | Complete house, PKR | Grey structure, PKR | Build time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Marla1,125 sq ft plot | 1,800 to 2,100 sq ftat PKR 7,230 per sq ft | PKR 1.30 to 1.52 crore26.0 to 30.4 lakh per Marla | PKR 57.6 to 67.2 lakh | 5 to 6 months |
| 10 Marla2,250 sq ft plot | 3,000 to 3,400 sq ftat PKR 7,430 per sq ft | PKR 2.23 to 2.52 crore22.3 to 25.2 lakh per Marla | PKR 98.0 lakh to 1.11 crore | 6 to 7 months |
| 1 Kanal4,500 sq ft plot | 5,500 to 6,300 sq ftat PKR 7,500 per sq ft | PKR 4.13 to 4.73 crore20.6 to 23.6 lakh per Marla | PKR 1.82 to 2.08 crore | 11 to 12 months |
| 2 Kanal9,000 sq ft plot | 10,000 to 11,500 sq ftat PKR 7,840 per sq ft | PKR 7.84 to 9.02 crore19.6 to 22.5 lakh per Marla | PKR 3.43 to 3.95 crore | 15 to 16 months |
Standard specification, Lahore outside DHA, materials and site labour, September 2026. Build time is Avenir’s own duration from site start to handover. One Marla is taken as 225 sq ft. Plots are drawn to scale by area. For your own covered area, specification and basement, enter them in Avenir’s construction cost calculator.
Why the rate changes with the plot
The rate per square foot rises slightly with plot size, from PKR 7,230 on 5 Marla to PKR 7,840 on 2 Kanal, because structural spans and section sizes grow with the building. The cost per Marla of plot moves the other way, from PKR 26.0 to 30.4 lakh on 5 Marla down to 19.6 to 22.5 lakh on 2 Kanal, because a small plot is built over more of its area. A 5 Marla house covers 1.6 to 1.9 times its plot; a 1 Kanal house covers 1.2 to 1.4 times.
What are the stages of building a house in DHA Lahore?
DHA Lahore verifies every house at five set stages, from setting out to the sewer connection. The sequence below follows DHA’s Construction and Development Regulations, April 2026 edition, with the budget split and build time for a 1 Kanal house at Standard specification.
Before siteDrawings and approval
- Drawings and soil reportArchitectural, structural, MEP and fire safety drawings signed by a registered architect, with a structural stability certificate and an original soil report less than a year old.
- DHA scrutinyObjections come back in writing, and a resubmission restarts the count. Approved drawings stay valid for 2 years.21 working days for a complete submission
Grey structure44% of the budget
- Setting outThe layout is checked on site before any work starts.
- Foundations to damp-proof courseThe structure is checked up to DPC level.
- First floor beginsChecked when the first-floor structure stands 1 ft above the ground-floor roof slab.
- Grey structure completeChecked before finishing starts.
Finishing56% of the budget
- Finishes and servicesFlooring, joinery, fittings and final MEP, including the wired fire alarm system DHA sets by plot size (17 detectors on the ground floor and 14 on the first for 1 Kanal) and at least two CCTV cameras at the front boundary wall.
HandoverCompletion certificate
- CompletionChecked when the sewer connection is opened, before anyone moves in. The certificate is normally issued within about 20 days if the house matches the approved drawings, and must be obtained within 3 years of approval.
What decides the cost of your house
The authority that governs your plot
Covered area drives the budget, and the authority decides how much you may build. In DHA Lahore the first floor may cover 80 percent of the ground floor on a 1 Kanal plot, 82 percent on 7 to 10 Marla, 78 percent on 2 Kanal and all of it on 5 Marla (regulation 27, page 25). The house may rise 39 ft from the crown of the road at its highest point, or 32 ft excluding the mumtee and parapet, and a second floor is not permitted (regulation 23, page 23).
LDA-approved schemes work differently. A plot from 1 Kanal to 30 Marla may cover 65 percent of its area at ground level and rise to 45 ft over up to four storeys, within a floor area ratio of 1:2.6 that counts any basement (LDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2019, clause 2.2.3). The same plot size can therefore carry a different house, and a different budget, depending on the rules that apply. DHA’s full rules are in Avenir’s DHA Lahore building byelaws guide.
Specification
From Essential to Luxury specification, the grey structure rate rises by a third while the finishing rate rises 2.7 times. Upgrading a house is almost entirely a finishing decision: stone, joinery, glazing, sanitaryware, lighting and the services behind them. At Luxury, a 1 Kanal house plans at PKR 7.40 to 8.47 crore, against 4.13 to 4.73 crore at Standard.
Essential to Luxury, Lahore outside DHA, September 2026. Rates for all four specifications, and what each includes, are in the cost guide.
A basement
Basement grey works cost PKR 4,300 per sq ft of basement at Standard in Lahore and PKR 4,560 in DHA Lahore, above the PKR 3,300 for floors above ground, because of excavation, retaining walls and waterproofing. DHA allows a single basement level, with a ceiling height of 9 to 14 ft and excavation no deeper than 12 ft including the foundation, measured from the crown of the road (regulations 32(c) and 35, pages 28 to 29). A basement also takes the covered area well past the ranges above: a 1 Kanal house Avenir designed in DHA Phase 6, with a basement and a swimming pool, has 7,600 sq ft of covered area.
Inside or outside DHA
Avenir prices DHA Lahore 6 percent above the rest of Lahore at every specification. On a 1 Kanal house at Standard, the difference is roughly PKR 25 to 28 lakh.
Items the regulations add
Some costs come from the rules rather than the drawings. Ask whether each of these sits inside the rate per square foot or is billed separately.
- Soil investigation reportDHA regulation 14
- Structural stability certificateDHA regulation 15
- Wired fire alarm system with set detectors per floorDHA Annex C
- At least two CCTV cameras at the front wallDHA regulation 66
- Solar: a PPIB-authorised installer and DHA approval before installationDHA regulation 67
- Excavator permission and a PKR 100,000 refundable securityDHA regulation 68
- Wall and roof insulationLDA clause 2.7
- A rainwater storage tank from 5 Marla and a recharge well from 15 MarlaLDA clause 5.6.6; see rainwater harvesting in Pakistan
Ask too what the quoted covered area includes. A basement, mumty, porch, boundary wall and external works each change the total, so the definition belongs in writing before any two rates are compared.
How long does it take to build a house in Lahore?
From site start to handover, Avenir’s build times are 5 to 6 months for a 5 Marla house, 6 to 7 months for 10 Marla, 11 to 12 months for 1 Kanal and 15 to 16 months for 2 Kanal. Drawings and approval come first. In DHA Lahore, scrutiny of a complete submission takes 21 working days, and each resubmission starts the count again (regulation 16, page 20).
Two things stretch a programme more than site work does. The first is a drawing set prepared for the wrong rules: a set that clears one authority does not automatically clear another, and that mismatch is the most common reason a design comes back. The second is the pace of finishing decisions. Tiles, stone, joinery and fittings that are still undecided when the grey structure completes hold up everything after it.
DHA Lahore or an LDA scheme: how the rules differ
Which authority governs your plot decides who may sign the drawings, how large the house can be and how it is inspected. Private schemes approved by LDA apply their own byelaws on top of LDA’s, so confirm the scheme’s rules for your plot before design starts.
| Rule | DHA Lahore | LDA-approved schemes |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs the drawings | An architect registered with both PCATP and DHARegulations 2(b)(76) and 15 | An architect registered with PCATP and on LDA’s approved listClause 1.1 |
| Height | 39 ft from the crown of the road; no second floorRegulation 23 | 38 ft below 10 Marla; 45 ft from 10 Marla, up to four storeysClause 2.2.3 |
| How much you may build | First floor at 78 to 100 percent of the ground floor by plot size, inside set clear spacesRegulations 22 and 27 | Ground coverage of 75 percent from 5 Marla, 70 percent from 10 Marla, 65 percent from 1 Kanal to 30 Marla, 60 percent up to 2 Kanal and 55 percent from 2 KanalClause 2.2.3 |
| Scrutiny | 21 working days for a complete submission; restarts on resubmissionRegulation 16 | Refer to LDA’s current procedure |
| Site inspections | Five set stages, from setting out to the sewer connectionRegulation 18 | Refer to LDA’s current procedure |
| Other requirements | Wired fire alarm system; at least two CCTV camerasAnnex C and regulation 66 | Wall and roof insulation; rainwater tank from 5 Marla; recharge well from 15 MarlaClauses 2.7 and 5.6.6 |
| Completion | Certificate normally within 20 days; must be obtained within 3 years of approvalRegulation 48 | Completion date may be set from electricity and gas billsClause 2.7(iv) |
Sources: DHA Construction and Development Regulations, April 2026 edition; LDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2019, as amended. LDA lists later amendments on its downloads page, so confirm the current text for your scheme before relying on it.
How to choose who designs and builds your house
DHA’s regulations place construction supervision and quality assurance with the owner and the architects and engineers the owner appoints (regulation 45, page 34). Choosing them is a cost-control decision as much as a design one. Ask any firm, Avenir included, for these six things.
- A rate with its terms in writingThe specification, the scope (grey structure or complete house) and what the covered area includes. Without all three, two rates cannot be compared.
- A price counted from drawingsArchitectural drawings fix the covered area, structural drawings the concrete and steel, MEP drawings the services. A rate per square foot is a planning figure; a bill of quantities is a price.
- The registration the rules requireIn DHA, drawings must be signed by an architect registered with both PCATP and DHA. Ask for the registration in writing and check it with PCATP.
- A programme with stage durationsIt should show the five DHA checks and who from the firm attends each one.
- Payments tied to stages you can verifyThe DHA checks make natural payment milestones, because each is a stage DHA verifies on site.
- A written variation procedureHow a change is priced and approved before the work is done, so every change to the price has a record.
How Avenir prices and programmes a house
Avenir designs and builds, so pricing starts from a drawing set it has produced or reviewed. Architectural drawings fix the covered area and layout; structural drawings fix the concrete and steel quantities, the largest single cost in the grey structure; MEP drawings fix the services. Where a set is incomplete, the gaps are listed in writing and the work is priced as drawn. The quotation comes with a programme of stage durations, so the timeline is specific to the building rather than a market average. Avenir’s construction service works through an example.
House construction in Lahore: questions owners ask
What is the construction cost per square foot in Lahore?
About PKR 7,500 per sq ft of covered area for a complete house at Standard specification, as of September 2026: PKR 3,300 for grey structure and PKR 4,200 for finishing. Across specifications the complete-house rate runs from PKR 6,500 (Essential) to PKR 13,450 (Luxury). DHA Lahore is 6 percent higher, at PKR 7,950 for Standard.
How much does it cost to build a 5 Marla house in Lahore?
PKR 1.30 to 1.52 crore for a complete house of 1,800 to 2,100 sq ft at Standard specification, of which the grey structure is PKR 57.6 to 67.2 lakh. Avenir’s build time is 5 to 6 months from site start to handover.
How much does it cost to build a 1 Kanal house in Lahore?
PKR 4.13 to 4.73 crore for a complete house of 5,500 to 6,300 sq ft at Standard specification, with the grey structure at PKR 1.82 to 2.08 crore. At Luxury specification the same house plans at PKR 7.40 to 8.47 crore. Build time is 11 to 12 months from site start to handover.
Is it more expensive to build in DHA Lahore?
Yes, by 6 percent at every specification in Avenir’s rates, which is roughly PKR 25 to 28 lakh on a 1 Kanal house at Standard. DHA’s rules also shape the house itself: a 39 ft height limit, no second floor and set first-floor coverage by plot size.
How long does DHA Lahore take to approve house drawings?
DHA scrutinises a complete submission within 21 working days. Objections come back in writing, and a resubmission restarts the count. Approved drawings remain valid for 2 years (regulations 16 and 17 of the April 2026 edition).
Should I contract the grey structure only, or the complete house?
Grey structure is 44 percent of a Standard budget; finishing, where most specification choices sit, is the other 56 percent. A grey-structure-only contract leaves you to appoint and coordinate the finishing trades and the services behind them, while a complete-house contract puts that coordination under one party. Either way, write down where the grey structure ends and finishing begins, because the boundary varies between contracts.
Is a rate per square foot the same as a quotation?
No. A rate per square foot is a planning figure for setting a budget. A quotation is priced from architectural, structural and MEP drawings as a bill of quantities, for a stated specification and scope. Use the rate to decide what to build and the quotation to decide who builds it.
How this guide was prepared
Prepared by Avenir Developments’ architecture and construction team in Lahore, for plot owners setting a budget and a sequence before they commission drawings.
- Rates
- The calculator behind Avenir’s house construction cost guide, reviewed September 2026. Standard specification and Lahore outside DHA unless stated; materials and site labour; per square foot of covered area; plot-size figures include the calculator’s plot adjustment. These are planning estimates, not quotations.
- Build times
- Avenir’s own durations from site start to handover.
- DHA rules
- DHA Construction and Development Regulations, April 2026 edition, read on 23 September 2026 and cited by regulation and page.
- LDA rules
- LDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2019, as amended and published by LDA. Later amendments are listed on LDA’s downloads page.
Start with a preliminary assessment of your plot
Send your plot size, society and phase, and whether you have drawings yet. Avenir’s architects and construction team will talk you through the approval route and a planning budget for your plot.
